Material applicator



Jan. 9, 1962 Filed Feb. 28, 1958 M. W. TEALL MATERIAL APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. M51. v/N VK Tam. L

erred/van M. W. TEALL `Ian. 9, 1962 MATERIAL APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1958 INVENTOR. M51. vm W TEALL BY@ 9 ww ,aow

This invention pertains to apparatus for applying paint or the like to surfaces and more particularly to apparatus for spraying paint or other material onto a surface and concomitantly rolling the sprayed paint or the like into a uniform coating.

Various devices are known in the art for applying paint to surfaces. Spray guns are one Well-known type and are Widely used for many applications. The advantages of spray painting are also Well-known. Spray guns, however, require skilled operators to achieve uniform coatings with pleasing appearances. Inexperienced operators frequently move the spray guns in arcuate paths rather than paths parallel to the surfaces. This results in heavier coatings at points on the surfaces closer to the paths of the guns. Excessively heavy coatings may also be formed when the guns are held in one place too long or the paint is supplied to the guns at too high a rate.

A spray gun must atomize paint uniformly and to a fine degree to produce a uniform coating. To do so, the spray nozzles of the gun must be accurately machined and assembled. Such nozzles are expensive and beyond the financial reach of many consumers. Further, fine, uniform atomization requires high pressure air, and costly compressing equipment. High pressure air also creates considerable overspray in many instances. Atomized particles are carried at high velocity by the high pressure air. Many of these atomized particles bounce from, or by-pass, -the surfaces being coated, and are often carried by wind or other moving air streams to locations where they cause speckling of objects which were not intended to be painted. Because of this problem, spraying is generally not a suitable way to apply paint in many locations, for example, house interiors.

Roller applicators, also well-known in the art, for rolling paint on surfaces, have recently found widespread use. Good coatings can be produced with such roller applicators by almost anyone. Paint is generally applied to the rollers from flat reservoirs in which the rollers are rotated. These reservoirs are relatively difficult to handle and are therefore usually positioned at semipermanent, central points which are frequently a long distance from the operators. Therefore, considerable time is often required traveling from the objects being coated to the reservoirs, to apply the paint to the rollers. Besides requiring considerable eXtra time to complete a job, the paint may drip from the rollers, when being carried between the reservoirs and the surfaces being coated, and blemish the premises. Further, the paint coating may be non-uniform, being heavier at those portions of the surfaces where the replenished rollers are first applied. Also, the coating may dry sufficiently while the rollers are being replenished to leave visible marks at the points where the previously applied paint terminates and the fresh paint begins.

Certain suggestions have been made for overcoming these disadvantages of paint rollers. For example, various systems have been suggested for continuously supplying paint to the rollers. In some such systems, the paint is supplied to the interiors of the rollers from where it oozes through to the outer surfaces. In other systems,

the paint is supplied by various means directly to the exterior of the rollers.

The use of any roller applicator heretofore has been limited to the coating of objects having smooth, planar surfaces. Surfaces having recesses or irregularities can- Anot be evenly painted with rollers sincethe rollers can- Patent `of conventional spraying equipment.

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not contact the recessed or irregular portions. portions will not, therefore, receive any paint.

This factor is of little concern when some surfaces, such as a wall of a room is painted, since almost any such wall is smooth enough to be evenly coated by a roller. There are many instances Where this is not true, however, and which include barns and the exteriors of many houses. Warped siding boards, sloppily fitted boards, splintered portions, and roughened areas present surfaces that cannot be adequately coated by any known rollers.

The present invention provides apparatus for applying paint or other coating quickly and efficiently, minimum skill being required of an operator, and has particular adaptability for coating irregular surfaces and non-planar walls which are frequently associated with barns and house exteriors and interiors. The apparatus of the invention basically comprises a pair of parallel, paint-distributing rollers supported in a frame, with spray heads located between the rollers. Means are also provided for supplying paint under pressure to the nozzles. The nozzles spray paint onto a surface and the rollers distribute the sprayed paint uniformly. Indentations n a surface to be coated are covered with sprayed paint, even though the rollers do not contact the indented surfaces. The majority of the surface will be contacted by'the rollers, however, and the paint spread thereby.

The rollers employed in apparatus of the present invention maintain the spray nozzles close to, and at a constant distance from, the surface being coated, and thus prevent variations in the thickness of the sprayed coating which would otherwise be the consequence of a variation in the distance between the nozzles and the surface. Hence, unskilled operators can operate the equipment properly. Further,` the paint may be sprayed from the nozzles at a lower pressure than is required for conventional spray devices. This is possible because minute atomization of the paint is not necessary. Rather, the paint need only be dispersed from the nozzles enough to substantially cover the surface that the nozzles pass over. The rollers and the frame also tend partially to enclose the spray nozzles and separate the spray yfrom the surroundings. By maintaining the nozzles at a proper distance from and at a proper `angle relative to the surface, by using lower pressure, and by partially enclosing lthe spray nozzles, overspray from the nozzles is reduced and the new apparatus may be employed in locations unsuitable for conventional spray apparatus. More efficient utilization of the paint is achieved, too, with less being wasted as overspray. According to conventional spraying techniques, as much as 25 percent of the paint used is lost -as overspray.

`It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved applicator for paint or the like.

It is a further object of the invention to provide anl applicator having rollers for rolling paint or another coating material on the majority of a surface and having spray means to supply paint or the like for distributionrby the rollers and also to apply the coating material to irregularities and to recesses which are not contacted by the rollers.

It is another object of the invention to provide appa- These lratus for coating a surface primarily by spreading paint or the like with rollers, and having associated means for coating portions of the surface which are not contacted by the rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for applying paint or the like, which apparatus ernbodies many of the advantages of spraying, yet can be handled by an unskilled operator and can be used in many places where excessive overspray prohibits the use Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in which specific reference is made to the application of paint, of preferred embodiments thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paint applicator according to the invention, and comprising both spray nozzles and roller applicators,

FIG. 2 is a View of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken from the side toward which the nozzles are directed,

FIG. 3 is a view in cross section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a modified apparatus embodying the principles of the invention, which apparatus is especially adapted for painting clapboard siding,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view partially in cross section, taken on line 54-5 of FIG. 4, and representing the apparatus in position for applying paint to clapboard siding,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, detailed view of a portion of the apparatus of FIGS. 4 and 5, and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. l, but modified apparatus according to the invention.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 3, an applicator, which will be described as a paint applicator, according to the invention, indicated generally at 10, comprises two paint rollers 11 and 12 mounted on a frame 13. The frame 13 has two connecting plates 14 and a crossbar 15. The rollers 11 and 12 are conventional paint rollers covered with lambs wool, mohair, or the like, and are rotatable on axles 16 and 17 which are journaled to the plates 14. Nozzles 18 are mounted on the crossbar 1S at appropriate intervals. The design of the nozzles is not critical, because a precise, uniform coating, required with conventional spray apparatus, is not necessary. The coating7 need only be dispersed sufficiently to enable the rollers to accomplish uniform distribution. Therefore, precision-made nozzles are not necessary and inexpensive nozzles can be used. The nozzles should be so designed and spaced that substantially the entire surface over which the rollers pass is coated. The spray need not be uniform but should cover all areas to some extent in order to assure that all recesses or irregularities will receive paint. It is advantageous that the nozzles be adjustable upwardly or downwardly, and also with respect to angle, so that proper nozzle attitude and spacing can be achieved on the job under any of a variety of conditions.

The rollers 11 and 12 maintain the nozzles 18 at a constant predetermined distance from the surface to be coated so that the coating will be uniform and no runs or orange peel effects can occur. Further, the nozzles 18 can be supplied with paint at a relatively low pressure since fine atomization is not required. Overspray can be virtually eliminated with the nozzles 18 comparatively close to the surface and somewhat separated from the surroundings by the rollers 11 and 12 and the plates 14, supplying paint thereto under low pressure also helping to reduce Overspray. If desired, the connecting plates 14 can be extended, and a resilient cover fitted thereover to enclose the entire apparatus and completely eliminate Overspray. Such cover, if used, preferably should contact the rollers 11 and 12, so that paint is transferred from the cover to the rolls, and then to the surface being coated. The apparatus can therefore be operated in areas where conventional spray apparatus cannot be used because of the possibility of undesirably coating nearby objects. Also, the paint is more effectively used since less is wasted as Overspray.

Paint is supplied by conventional means to the nozzles 18, as from a pressurized reservoir 19` (FIG. 3), to a flexible hose 21 and individual hoses 22. If desired, paint can also be pumped from the reservoir 19, which, in such case, can be at atmospheric pressure. Valves 23 are shown in the flexible hose 21 near a handle 24. One of the valves 23 is used by an operator for regulating the rate at which paint is supplied to the nozzles 18, while the other is used to initiate or interrupt the supplying of paint thereto. The handle 24 (FIG. 1) is aflxed to a yoke 25, which is pivotally attached at 26 to the plates 14. A stop 27 is provided on the plates 14 below an end of the yoke 25 to prevent the frame 13 from pivoting too far when used in an inverted position.

The applicator 10 can be operated in any position, and is shown in FIG. 3 in a position to coat a ceiling or the like. The flexible hose 21 can be substantially any length to allow large freedom of movement by the operator, and can be of any suitable material which is resistant to the paint or other coating material being applied. The width of the rollers 11 and 12 is only limited by the amount of weight an operator can reasonably handle.

In operation, the rollers 11 and 12 are placed in contact with a surface to be coated, and one of the valves 23 adjusted to supply paint Iat a desired rate. The other of the valves 23 tis then opened as required while the applicator '18 is moved back and forth over the surface, so that the nozzles 18, which constitute initial distributing means, apply a rough coating of paint to the surface. The rollers 11 and 12 spread the rough paint coating over the surface into a final, uniform coat, and, thus, constitute nal diS- tributing means for the paint. It will be apparent that only o-ne roller acts at any given time as a final distributing means, that roller being the one which follows the nozzles 18 in the direction the applicator is moved.

An embodiment of the invention specifically designed for applying paint to clapboard siding and similar surfaces is shown in FIG. 4. A paint applicator indicated generally at 28 has four rollers 29 'rotatably mounted with respect to two outer plates 30 and 31 and a middle plate 32. Crossbars 33 and 34 connect the plates 38 and 32 and the plates 31 and 32, respectively. Two nozzles 35 and 36 are aflixed to each of the crossbars 33 and 34. The nozzles 35 and 36 can be supplied paint in the same manner as the nozzles 18 of FlGS. 1-3. The applicator 28 can also be held by a yoke and handle similar to the yoke 25 and the handle 24 shown in FIGS. 1-3. These components are not Shown in FIGS. 4-6 to facilitate greater clarity of illustration.

The rollers 29 are carried by axles 37, which are tapered at their ends (see FIG. 6, particularly) and which extend into lateral slots 38, two of which are located in each of the pilates 38 and 31, and four of which are located in the middle plate 32. Each slot 38 has a pin 39 (FIG. 6) parallel thereto which extends through a small hole 40 connecting the upper end of the slot 38 to the top of the plate 30, 31, or 32. The pin 39 has an enlarged head 41 wh-ich is urged against the axle 37 by the force of a spring 42, which bears against the head 41 of the pin 39. Each of the axles 37 has a flange 43 which bears against the connecting plate 38, 31 or 32, around the slot 38.

The applicator 28 is shown in operating position in FIG. 5. The rollers 23 are placed laterally against clapboards, designated 44, under slight pressure to cause compression of the springs 42 and tilting of the axle 37 so that the rollers 29 to conform to the slanted surface of the clapboards 44. In this position, one o-f the rollers 29 will substantially cover the width of one of the boards 44 except for narrow areas adjacent the upper and lower edges. These areas, however, will be coated by paint sprayed from the nozzles 3S and 36, the spray patterns being indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 5. The spray fro-m the nozzle 35 covers the corner formed by adjacent boards 44 and also the bottom edge of the upper one of the adjacent boards 44. The spray from the nozzle 36 covers the lower edge of the board 44. The area covered by both sprays overlaps -at or near Vthe center of the boards 44.

If the applicato-r 28 is to be used only for coating clapboard, the connecting plates 30, 31, 32can be permanently set at angles perpendicular to the surfaces of the boards 44 to enable the rollers 29 to be lpositioned closer to one another. Further, the axles 37 can be permanently mounted so thatvthe rollers 29 are maintained in fixed,

slanted positions parallel to the surfaces of the boards 44.

A further modified applicator according to the invention is indicated generally at 45 in FIG. 7. The applicator 45 is similar to the applicator of FIGS. 1-3, comprising rollers 46 and 47 suitably journalled in -a frame 48, but the rollers are positioned considerably closer to one another so that the area of a surface on which paint is sprayed by nozzles 49 is more completely enclosed, and overspray therefore still further reduced. Also, the nozzles 49 are frictionally engaged in slots in a support member 50 so that they can be raised or lowered relative to the other parts of the applicator 45. The support member is structurally integral With two end members 51, which are welded or otherwise rigidly Iattached to end plates 52 in which the rollers 46 `and 47 are journalled, and are pinned to a handle yoke 53. The applicator 45, suitably supplied with paint or other coating material, preferably as shown in FIG. 3, constitutes the best presently known apparatus according to the invention, considering, in particular, cost of production, effectiveness, and ease of use.

It will be appreciated that the Iapparatus of the present invention can be varied substantially from the preferred embodiment thereof shown in FIGS. 1-3, and described in connection therewith, without departing from the spinit and scope of the attached claims. For example, the applicator itself can be mounted in a fixed position and used to apply and distribute paint o-r lanother coating to objects which are moved thereunder. The applicator can be used in this way to apply paint or other coatings to car bodies, or to metal strip or sheet. If desired, a graining effect can be achieved by using one of the sprays, or an auxiliary spray, to apply a limited quantity of a paint or other coating material which is signiiica-ntly diierent in color from the main body of paint or other coating material which is applied. In addition, an `applicator according to the invention can be used for applying coatings other than paint, for example of asphalt, various curable synthetic resinous compositions, and even known formulations of concrete with synthetic resinous materials, where the resinous materials -are usually latex materials.

When a hardenable synthetic resinous material, such as a polyester, an epoxy, or another material, which must be mixed with a hardener before use, is to be applied, for example to glass fabric or other reinforcement used in producing a laminate, the hardener or catalyst can be applied from one of the nozzles, and the resinous m-aterial from another. In such case, the action of the rollers as they are moved back and forth through the material accomplishes the necessary mixing of the hardener, catalyst or the like with the resinous material. Where desired, a brush or the like can be Aattached to an applicator according to the invention to cause ia particular surface effect. Other changes and modiiications will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. A coating applicator comprising a frame having two outer plates and an intermediate plate, all of which are parallel, two pairs of distributing rollers rotatably held by said frame, the rollers of each pair being parallel one to another and each pair being parallel to the other pair, means for rotatably and yieldably holding each of the rollers of one of said pairs between an outer plate and the intermediate plate for rotational movement and movement laterally of said plates, and for rotatably and yieldably holding each of the rollers of the other of said parts between the other outer plate and said intermediate plate for rotational movement and movement laterally of said plates, a plurality of nozzles located substantially symmetrically between each of said pairs and directed toward a surface to be coated, means for supplying a coating composition under pressure to said nozzles, and means for controlling the rate at which the coating composition is supplied to said nozzles.

2. A coating applicator comprising a frame having two outer plates and an intermediate plate, all of which are parallel, a rst pair of distributing rollers rotatably held by said frame between one of said two outer plates and said intermediate plate, said rollers being spaced one from the other, a second pair of distributing rollers rotatably held by said frame between the other of said two outer plates and said intermediate plate and spaced one from the other a distance equal to that between the rollers of said first pair, the rollers of said second pair being substantially in alignment with the rollers of said first pair, means for rotatably and yieldably holding said rollers in their respective positions within said frame for rotational movement and movement laterally of said frame and said plates, a plurality of nozzles located between each of said pairs of rollers `and directed toward a surface to be coated, means connected to said nozzles for supplying coating composition thereto, and means for controlling the rate at which the coating composition is supplied to said nozzles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 109,946 Rockwell et al. Dec. 6, 1870 1,240,017 Benedict Sept. 1l, 1917 2,104,062 Temple Jan. 4, 1938 2,149,590 Fatout Mar. 7, 1939 2,299,242 Lui Oct. 20, 1942 2,321,511 Piercy June 8, 1943 2,336,419 Pino Dec. 7, 1943 2,511,684 Amore June 13, 1950 2,545,025 Erhardt Mar. 13, 1951 2,545,905 Thomas Mar. 20, 1951 2,572,142 Hartenbach Oct. 23, 1951 2,695,003 Edwards Nov. 23, 1954 2,732,575 Faust Jan. 31, 1956 2,805,439 Parker Sept. 10, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 504,824 Italy i Sept. 1956 793,449 Great Britain Apr. 16, 1958 

